Techniques are known in the art for measuring or characterizing the radiation pattern of optical sources utilize a goniometer in combination with an optical detector. These "gonioradiometric" measurements are typically made by rotating the detector on a radial arm of the goniometer about the optical source (light source) to be measured. The detector scans though angles and measures light output as a function of angle. In accordance with another known technique, a light source is mounted to a rotating goniometer which scans the optical beam from the light source across a detector that is fixed at one position. The mechanical scanning apparatus associated with the above-described known techniques often occupy a rather large volume due to the necessity of scanning at specified radii, on the order of many meters in some cases. In addition, the mechanical scanning apparatus is typically large and cumbersome and thus does not allow for rapid positioning. This results in lengthy scan times. In some cases the scan times can be on the order of several minutes or more per individual scan. This translates to characterization times on the order of hours for a full incremental scan of the radiation pattern of a source.
Accordingly, a gonioradiometric scanning apparatus and technique which overcome the above-noted limitations of the prior art gonioradiometric scanning systems would constitute a significant advance in the art.